Forage crop cutting and conveying device



June 26, 1956 R. H. ARRINGTON ,1 9

FORAGE CROP CUTTING AND CONVEYING DEVICE Original Filed Oct. 20, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 1 |5b I60 IZ INVENTOR RICHARD H. ARRINGTON ATTORNEY June1956 R. H. ARRINGTON FORAGE CROP CUTTING AND CONVEYING DEVICE OriginalFiled Oct. 20, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RICHARD H. ARRINGTONATTORNEY June 26, 1956 H. ARRINGTON FORAGE CROP CUTTING AND CONVEYINGDEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Oct. 20, 1954 ATTORNEY June 26,1956 R. H. ARRINGTON Re. 24,169

FORAGE CROP CUTTING AND CONVEYING DEVICE Original Filed Oct. 20, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR RICHARD H. ARRINGTON ATTORNEY United StatesPatent Ofiice Re. 2 4,169 Reissued June 26, 1956 FORAGE CROP CUTTING ANDCONVEYING DEVICE Richard H. Arrington, near Montgomery, Ala.

No. 2,720,070, dated October 11, 1955, Serial No. 463,535, October 20,1954. Application for reissue March 9, 1956, Serial No. 570,661

17 Claims. (CI. 56-23) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to harvester machines for cropping forage assilage.

There has always been a continuing and great need for a relativelyinexpensive and simply constructed silagecrop harvester requiring aminimum of power for its operation and a minimum of maintenance.Cattlemen and dairymen are confronted each year with the problem of asurplus of forage growth (usually comprising a mixture of the heavierand coarser grasses, weeds, clover and the like or some of them) inrainy periods particularly in the spring seasons, which do not allow hayproduction. This surplus of forage becomes an economic loss due to thefact that heretofore there has been no economical and practical meansfor salvaging this crop as silage, except by relatively expensive,complicated and cumbersome forage harvesters requiring a largeexpenditure of power for their operation and undue maintenance which isnot conducive to their acquisition especially for the comparativelysmall farmer.

The principal aim or object of the present invention is to overcome theabove stated drawbacks by the provision of a relatively inexpensivesilage harvester, having few operating parts including a rotarycutting-blade means arranged in a substantially horizontal cuttingplane, and which may be drawn and actuated by the [usually] usualtwo-row tractor (a common utility on most farms), and the rotary blademeans of which will generate an air current of great force topneumatically convey this heavy coarse and moisture laden cut silage toa trailing wagon, or the like, also drawn by said tractor, while at thesame time leaving suflicient forage for grazing purposes; this object oraim being accomplished with a small volume of air so that little, ifany, negative air pressure is created under the harvester, whichnegative air pressure would entrain dirt or trash from the surface ofthe ground.

I have discovered that the aforesaid aim of the invention may beattained by a radial cutting-blade means rotatable about a generallyvertical axis in association with an overlying circular hood-like casingopen at its underside and concentric with the axis of the cutting blademeans and provided with a circular-arc or substantially annular upwardlyspiralling collecting passage overlying air impeller vanes extendingupwardly from the outer ends of said cutting blades, said vanes being ofsuch configuration and disposition as to induce air current inwardlyfrom the outer ends of the blades counter to those produced bycentrifugal force, when the blades are rotated, and to direct saidcombined flows upwardly into said passage with a spiraling or cyclonicmovement free of turbulence, whereby the heavy moisture laden cutmaterial is entrained in said cyclonic current and floats from thecutting blades directly into said collecting passage and carried by saidcyclonic current to a discharge duct directed into a trailing wagon orthe like as the harvester progresses [forward] forwardly over a field offorage--all without any prohibitive amount of the cropped silage beingthrown the sides or underneath of the harvester or clogging said passageor duct or causing the entrainment of dirt or other trash from thesurface of the ground, if operated in the recommended manner.

More specially the circular-arc spiral passage in the hood is in theform of an inverted channel having its inner side wall terminating aboveits outer side wall (which is the outer defining wall of the hood) andhaving the portion of its top confining wall, overlying the path ofrotation of the impeller vanes, in the form of a gradual upward spiral,thus progressively increasing the vertical area of the channel in thedirection of rotation of the impeller vanes. The portion of the smallestcrosssectional area of said channel is located at one side of the hood,with respect to its direction of travel, substan tially opposite theaxis of the blades and continues forwardly around the front of the hoodand then rearwardly of the hood and, thence, forwardly to a pointadjacent the commencing point where the channel rises from the top ofthe hood in a gradual upwardly and rearwardly extending arcuate tubularduct of such length and height as to direct the cut silage-crop into atrailing vehicle or container.

While the above are considered to be the salient features of thisinvention, other objects and novel features will become apparent fromthe following detailed description wherein the novel features ofconstruction and the novel arrangement and combination of parts will beemphasized and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In order that a clearer understanding of the invention may be had,reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate the formof the harvester as at present constructed and used and in which- Figurel is a perspective view of the silage-crop harvester embodying thepresent invention, the harvester being shown connected to a two-rowtractor which pulls it over a field and drives the cutting means thereofby means of a power take-off on the tractor, a trailer or wagon beingentrained to the rear of the harvester into which the cut silage-crop isblown;

Figure 1a is a side view of the device with some of the parts shown insection[.];

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the harvester;

Figure 3 is an underside view of the harvester shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged [a] transverse sectional view takensubstantially on line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged [a] transverse sectional view takensubstantially on line 5--5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged [a] perspective view of an outer end of acutting blade to illustrate the configuration of the air impeller vanethereon; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged [a] perspective view similar to Figure 6 of[the] a modified form of the air impeller vane.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like characters ofreference refer to similar and like parts through out the several views,the harvester H of the present invention is hitched to and drawn over afield of forage growth by a tractor T having the usual power take-ofi toperatively connected with the cutting mechanism of the harvester; andto the rear of the harvester H, is hitched a trailing wagon or othersuitable mobile container W into which the cut forage is blown from theharvester and collected for ensilaging (see Figure 1).

The harvester H preferably comprises a horizontal frame 10,substantially rectangular in shape (although it may be of any desiredshape), which may [compose] have, as shown, spaced side frame members aand b, a front end member c, a rear end member (1 and a top plate eforming a platform supported by a pair of spaced traction wheels 12positioned to follow behind the frame at opposite sides thereof. Thewheels 12 are mounted to the frame 10 so that said frame may be adjustedvertically to vary the distance of its underside relative to the groundsurface; and, to this end, two brackets 13, in the form of bell-cranklevers, may be disposed respectively at each rear end corner of theframe 10 and each secured to an arbor 14 at its fulcrum point, the rearend portion of each bracket 13 having a wheel 12 journalled thereto andhaving its other .end portion provided with a lateral stud 13a [13?]selectively engageable with the toothed-rack lia carried by a swing-link15 pivoted at one .end to a side of the frame 10. The arbors 14 may beselectively inserted in one of several vertically disposed bearingopenings 16a' [16] in lugs 16 carried by 'the rear iid frame member d sothat, in conjunction with the link 15, a relatively wide variation maybe obtained in theelevational adjustment of the frame 10. The from framemember c has secured thereto a suitable hitch means 17, preferably ofthe triangular three arm type, for connecting the harvester to the usualadjustable hitch-draft device 18 carried at the rear end of farmtractors T and which, by adjustment, will support the front end of theharvester at different elevated positions within the limits of itsadjustment.

A central area 19 of the top plate or platform e is surrounded betweenthe frame members a, b, c and d by a depending circular wall 20laterally extending from its under face, which together with the centralarea 19, forms a hood-like casing open at its underside and overlyingthe cutting blades of the harvester. The lower edge of the circular wall20 terminates a distance (i. e., about 2 inches to 3 inches) above thelower edges of the frame members a, b, c and d[ and is, preferably,reinforced by being thickened, or by the application of a coextensive[hand] band welded thereto or by fianging as generally indicated at 20a,in Figures 4 and 5.

Mounted on the top surface of the platform e, and overlying the centralarea 19, is a supporting frame 21 .upon which a gear box 22 isdetachably mounted with its output [stub-shaft] stud-shaft 23 positionedconcentrically with respect to the circular hood-wall 20. A verticalshaft 24 extends from the stud-shaft 23 through a journal bearing 25,mounted in top-plate e of the frame 10 and concentric with the circularwall 20, and has its lower end projecting below .the underside of thetop plate e. 'The upper end of shaft 24 may be coupled with the [stubshaft] stud-shaft 23 in any suitable manner as, for instance, by havingan angularly faced end fitting into a complemental socket 23a [23 [in]on the end of the [stub-shaft] studashaft 23, as indicated, or by asleeve coupling or in any conventional manner. The lower end of theshaft 24 is provided with at least two radial and oppositely extendingarms 26 to each of which is removably secured the inner end of acuttingblade 27, respectively.

Each cutting blade 27 comprises an elongated bar or strip of steel,whose thickness is a small fraction of its width, and has one of itselongated edges sharpened to provide a straight cuttingedge, asindicated at 27a [27], which forms the forward edge of the blade. Theblades 27 are slightly twisted longitudinally from their outer ends o totheir root or inner ends i so that the back edges of the blades arecanted upwardly with respect to their straight cutting-edges 27g [27%],th .fix fil t of this Cant e' s ea es a th Outer and o e. lade in theamount of a ou nd ii ps sss e y edu ing oward t e inner end i thereof.The length of the lower end of the shaft 24 is such as to position thecutting edges 27a [27] of the blades 27, connected thereto, to rotate ina plane preferably slightly below the lower edge 20a [20 of the circularhood wall 20. In practice, it has been found 4 that this spacing of theblades 27 below the hood edge 20a [20*] may be as much as /2 of an inch.When the blades 27 are below the ledge 20a [20 of the hood, the outerends 0 of the blades 27 terminate preferably within an area defined by avertical line projected from the lower end of the hood-wall 20.

Each blade 27 carries, on its back edge of its outer end portion 0, anair impeller vane 28 extending upwardly into the hood adjacent itsdepending wall 20 [and] for a distance substantially the length of saidwall and being of a configuration which will induce an "inward flow ofair from the outer end 0 of the cutting blade 27 to counter currents orcentrifugal forces created by the rapid rotation of the cutting bladesand which configuration will direct these combined currents upwardly and[forward] forwardly, with respect to the direction of rotation of theblades 27, in a constantly spiralling cyclonic movement about thecircular wall 20 of the hood casing 19:29.. The configuration of vanes28, to produce this current flow in suflicient volume and force to floatand convey the heavy and moisture laden forage cut by the blades 27, isthat which may be generally described as substantially corresponding toa longitudinal section of a [truncate] truncated hollow cone, as shownin Figure 6, with its arcuate end of less radius curving rearwardly andupwardly from the outer end 0 of the back edge of each blade 27 andincreasing in radius progressively inwardly along the blade for adistance of about a quarter to a third of the length of the blade. Thisformation and disposition of each vane 28 positions the effectiveconcaved surface of the vane at an inwardly facing oblique anglerelative to its blade so that the outer edge 0 of the vane will scoop ordraw-in air that flows in the direction of the arrow in, Figure 6, whenthe blades 27 carrying the vanes are rotated. However, since the blades27, when rotated about their axis 24, will develop and impart to the airand the cut material a centrifugal force moving in the direction ofarrow 11, Figure 6, the degree of oblique angularity of the vane shouldbe great enough so that these two forces n and n are completely balancedso that the force [p] k, produced by the canted outer portion of theblade and moving in the direction of the arrow [p] k, will, togetherwith the .arcuate surface of the vane, deflect the air currents m and nupwardly and forwardly in a cyclonic stream about and within the wal 20of the hood-casing 1920. This angularity of the vanes 28 and the cant ofthe blades 27, in combination with the hood wall 20 and the overlyingspiral collector passage 30, appears to be of importance in attainingthe results sought and obtained by this invention.

I have found in a harvester machine of this invention, having each bladetwo feet in radius moving at 10,000 feet per minute and the vanes about5 inches wide, the results sought are attained when the angulation ofthe vanes is approximately 30 degrees relative to a radius line from theaxis of rotation to the point q of the vane. I also found that tomaterially increase the angularity of vanes beyond 30, at the stated R.P. M., resulted in sling-in of said forces toward the center of thehoodcasing 1920, which hampers the cfliciency of the ma chine as much ofthe cut material falls to the ground and the required air force toconvey the cut material to the attending collector wagon is lost.However, this degree of angulation may have to be varied should theharvester be made larger or smaller or designed to have the blades 27and vanes 28 operated at a different speed than hereinafter recommended.

This configuration of the vanes shown in Figure 6 performs verysatisfactorily with all [type] .types of forage, but, in cutting cloverfor silage, it is preferred to provide a rearwardly curbed lip 28a [28*]along the upper marginal edge portion of the vane, byturning saidmarginal portion arcuately backward, as at r, resulting in the vanes 28being of a reverse curve formation as shown in Figure 7. The cut foragewill flow over the smooth top surface of the lip 28a [28*] withoutclinging to the surface of the vane and said surface will also impart anupward movement to air slipping thereover or in its path of movement.

Furthermore, it has been found that, in order for the above mentionedcyclonic air stream produced by the vanes 28 and having the cut-forageentrained therewith to have the force necessary to convey and lift thecutforage through the duct 29 to wagon W, a confining spiral passage ofgradually increasing cross-sectional area is required so as 1) toaccommodate the gradually increasing volume of the cropped forage fromthe point x of effective cutting by the blade 27 to the end of saidcutting at point y (i. e., during the forward half of the cycle ofrotation of each blade), (2) for the increasing air volume through thefull cycle of rotation of the blades from point x to discharge point zand (3) to reduce turbulence to a minimum and generate an air current ofthe force necessary. This is accomplished by providing an invertedupwardly [spiral] spiralling channel 30 from the point x to the point zand immediately overlying the path of rotation of the vanes 28; and, tothis end, the circular wall and the marginal portion of the central area19 of the top-plate e is extended upwardly above the top surface ofplate e to form the side walls s of the channel having their verticalheight increasing progressively from point x to point z in the directionof rotation of the vanes 28, as shown by the arrow in Figure 2. The sidewalls s of the channel are closed by a top wall w which forms the bottomof the inverted channel. The height of walls s starts at zero andprogressively increases from point x to about 6 inches at point z wherethe larger end of the channel discharges upwardly therefrom into thelower end of an arcuate duct 29 connected thereto and which duct extendsupwardly and rearwardly of the harvester H to overlie the body of thetrailing collector wagon W. It will be thus seen that the spiral channel30 is substantially annular or, more correctly, a circular-arc in form.

The duct 29 is suitably braced as at 29a [29 and has its upper endformed with a downwardly directed discharge opening 29b [29 controlledby a deflector 29c [29] hinged to the rear side of the discharge opening29b [29], by means of a spring hinge 29d [29 and is normally biasedthereby toward said opening 29b [29 The deflector may be moved, againstthe bias of said hinge, to the extent desired for directing thedischarged material into the wagon W, by means of a pull cable 31connected to the distal end of the deflector 29c [29] and extending overguide means 29e [29] to a convenient location on the tractor withinreach of the operator thereof.

The cutting blades 27 are connected respectively at their inner ends ito one of the arms 26 on the shaft 24 by means of bolts 32 and 33, thebolt 32 being of smaller diameter than bolt 33 so that, should theblades 27 strike a stone or stump, the bolt 32 will shear and cause theblade to swing back on bolt 33, thus avoiding injury to the shaft orother operating parts and prevent the blade 27 from being thrown againstthe hood casing.

It will also be observed that the hood casing 19-20 is positioned wellwithin the confines of the frame members a, b, c and d, and that itslower edge 20a [20 and the cutting blades 27 lie a substantial distanceabove the lower edges of said frame members a, b, c and d in order thatsaid members will act as a shielding protecting guard againstobjects,'such as stones, sticks and the like, being thrown outwardlyfrom underneath the frame 10 by the centrifugal force of the cuttingblades, said objects being many times heavier than the forage being cutand not influenced by the inward suction of the vanes described above.

I have found that the rotary blades 27 must have a circumferential ortip end speed of at least 8,000 feet per minute in order to properly cutand 'to create air currents of sufilcient force to lift and convey thecut forage into trailing wagon W. A speed of 10,000 feet per minute ispreferable regardless of the radius of the blades 27 and can be attainedfrom the usual power take-off t of the tractor T (which has a take-01fspeed of about 525 R. P. M.) through a shaft 34 connected with the gearbox 22 having the required gear ratio. The effective cutting area of theblades 27 is at their tip or outer ends 0 and may extend inwardly of theblades for about one-quarter to one-third the length of each; and theeffective cutting of the forage occurs in the front half of the cycle ofrotation of the blades, with respect to the forward movement of theharvester over a field-that is, from point x to y corresponding to theirdirection of rotation.

The machine of this invention is designed to harvest crops plantedspecifically for silage, such as oats and other small grains, sorghumand the like, as well as the usual forage or pasture growths and,[therefor] therefore, may be operated from about 3 inches or less toabout 12 inches or more above [the surface of] the ground surface of thefield with equal facility and efiiciency. In many instances where cloveris interplanted with oats or other small grains, it is desirable toadjust the hitch 17 and the wheel brackets 13 to elevate the harvesterto eight or ten inches above the ground so that the oats or such smallgrain growth, along with the taller weeds and grasses, may be croppedfor silage leaving the clover and the shorter grasses and the like forpasture grazing.

In the use of the harvester H, its frame 10 may be level or parallelwith the ground surface over which it moves or with its rear endslightly higher than its front end. The explanation of this appears tobe: While the vanes 28 are generating the cyclonic whirling air[curcent] current during the effective cutting action of the [blade]blades 27 from points x to y, the vanes 28 in the back half of theircycle of rotation induce or scoop-up air in greater volume an impartgreater force thereto in the portion of the collecting channel 30 oflarger cross-sectional area between points y and 2, which is notaccomplished as efficiently during the effective cutting portion of thecycle of the cutting blades 27 between points x and y; and by having theframe 10 level with the ground or upwardly tilted at its rear end, theaction of the vanes 28 [seem] seems to be assisted and removes anytendency of the cut forage, particularly if wet, [from adhering] toadhere to the walls of the collecting channel 30 or at its juncture withthe duct 29.

A harvester constructed in accordance with the above, and with the twoblades 27 each being 2 feet in length, has actually produced 10 tons ofsilage crop per hour with a two-row tractor, including time wasted whenswinging out to turn corners of the field, and in changing wagons W,and, further, considering that the height and thickness of the foragecrop in the field was not uniform. The wagon W [will contain] containedabout five tons of cut forage and, when filled, [is] was unhitched fromthe harvester and replace with another, the contents [thereof] of thelmhitched wagon being [drawn to a silo and] then ensilaged. However, byincreasing the groundspeed or travel of the harvester, an increase inforage volume or tonnage can be obtained if additional cuttingblades 27and vanes 28 are employed (say from 4 to 8) and preferably with a largertractor. Also, in a field of relatively short grass or clover (above 12to 18 inches high) or in a thin stand of oats and like forage (yieldingonly about three or four tons per acre), six to eight cutting blades maybe employed advantageously, when the harvester is operated at greaterground-speed, in order to yield about 10 tons per hour, in which caseonly two or three air impeller vanes 28 would be required because of therelatively small volume being cut, as additional air impellers wouldonly absorb unnecessary power of the tractor. Therefore, while it isconvenient to mount the vanes 28 on the blades 27, obviously such is notessential 7 so long as the impeller vanes rotate with and follow therotation of the blades. When greater volume of forage is cut, above 30tons per hour, the cross-sectional area of the duct 29 may have to beincreased above the 36 square inches presently employed.

It should be manifest that the novel silage crop harvester of the typeabove described attains the objects above set forth with a very simpleand inexpensive mechanism requiring a minimum of maintenance and powerfor its operation; and that the pneumatic collecting and conveying ofthe cut forage by this harvester is accomplished by the movement of thecutting [blade having] blades and the air current generating [vanesthereon] means, which induces air currents counter to the centrifugalforces produced by said blades, in a novel combination with a spiralcollecting channel. It the harvester is made on a larger scale to cut awider [swathe, there should be three or four blades 27 of increasedlength but] swath, the blades may be of increased length to place theeffective cutting portions thereof farther from their axis and thenumber of cutting blades may be increased to three or more with the sameor a less number of impellers 28, depending upon the volume or densityof forage to be cut and it is preferred that their optimum tip speed of10,000 feet per minute should be maintained, although the spiralcollecting channel 30 and the impeller [vane] vanes 28 [will] mayrequire a corresponding increase in their sizes.

Having thus described my invention in the manner in which the same is tobe attained and performed, it is manifest that certain modifications andvariations may be made in the exact construction herein described andshown and, therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is onlyto be limited by the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new and upon which Letters Patent are to besecured, is:

1. In a mobile harvester of the type adapted to be drawn over a field offorage to crop and pneumatically discharge the same into a trailingwagon as silage, a horizontal supporting platform having front and rearends and having downwardly directed members framing said platform,vertically adjustable supporting traction wheels for said platform, aforage cropping and conveying means mounted on said platform, said meansincluding horizontally disposed cutting blades mounted to rotate in aplane between and above the lower edges of said framing members, acircular wall depending from said platform and concentrically overlyingsaid blades at their outer ends and terminating above the plane ofrotation of said blades, air impeller vanes projecting upwardly from theouter end portions of said blades into the area defined by said circularwall and each having its vertical portion oblique relative to the radiusof its blade with its outer edge forward of its inner edge, aspiral-form channel passage supported on the top surface of saidplatform and overlying the path of rotation of the vanes and open alongits underside to communicate therewith and terminating at its larger endin a curved duct rising from said platform and directed to dischargeinto a trailing wagon, and a driving means for said blades supported onthe top surface of said platform.

2. A harvester for cutting and pneumatically conveying and dischargingtherefrom relatively heavy and moisture laden forage into a trailingcollecting vehicle, said harvester comprising an ambulatory verticallyadjustable frame, a circular hood-like casing carried by said frame andopen at its underside, radially disposed cutting blades positioned undersaid casing and mounted on an axis concentric with said casing in aplane substantially at the lower edge of said casing, an air impellervane carried by each blade at its outer end portion and extendingarcuately upward therefrom into the casing in close proximity to theside wall thereof and with its concave surface facing forwardly at anoblique angularity radially inward relative to direction of rotation, acircular-form in vetted channel on an open g into said casin and W lyingthe path of rotation .of said vanes, s id channel having a dischargeopening at one end positioned at one side portion of the casing andprogressively reducing in height around said casing, in a directioncounter to the rotation of said blades, to approximately the plane ofrotation of the :top edges of said vanes at a point located adjacent itssaid discharge end, an upwardly directed duct extending from thedischarge end of said channel to convey the cut silage to a trailingwagon, and driving means mounted on said frame and having an operativeconnection with said blade.

3. A harvester for cutting and pneumatically conveying and dischargingtherefrom relatively heavy and moisture laden forage to an attendingambulatory collecting re ccptaclc, said harvester comprising anambulatory [vertically adjustable] hood-like casing having its lowerportion formed by .a circular wall open at its underside, Elongated]blades positioned under and rotatably mounted radially on an axissubstantially concentric with said wall of said casing and having theircutting edges in a plane below the lower edge of said circular wall, thecutting edges of said blades being their forward edges with respect totheir direction of rotation, [an] air impeller [vane following eachblade at its outer end portion] vanes mounted to rotate with said bladesand extending upwardly into the hood-casing and having [its] their outer[end] ends in close proximity to the circular side wall of said casing,said impeller vanes each being shaped to induce a current of airinwardly from the outer ends of [combined flows .of forces upwardly andforwardly] said blades to counter forces moving outwardly of said[blade] blades, when said blades are rotating, and to direct said[combine] combined flows of forces upwardly and forwardly of said vanesand producing a cyclonic air current whirling upwardly and about saidside Wall of said casing in the direction of rotation of said vanes,[and] an inverted circular-arc channel formed on said hood casing andopening into said casing and overlying the greater portion of the pathof rotation of said vanes, said channel progressively increasing inheight forwardly of the harvester and with respect to the direction ofthe rotation of said blades from a point at a side portion of said[frame] casing to a point adjacent said point of beginning, where saidchannel emerges from the hood casing in the form of a conveying duct,and means for rotating said blades and vanes.

4. In a mobile harvester of the type adapted to be moved over a field offorage to crop the same for silage, a hood-like casing having a verticalcircular wall, cutting blades having their cutting edges disposedslightly below said wall and mounted on the harvester for rotationsubstantially concentric with said wall, an arcuate vane carried by eachblade and extending upwardly into said casing with its concaved surfacefacing forwardly at an oblique angle inwardly with respect to thedirection of rotation of said vanes to induce forces counter tocentrifugal forces, a collecting channel on the casing overlying andopen at its underside to communicate with the path of rotation of saidvanes within said casing, said channel having an upwardly spirallingupper wall, the lower end of said spiral wall being positioned at oneside of a foreand-aft longitudinal line through the center of [and] thecasing and gradually rising therefrom in height forwardly and aroundsaid casing in a direction corresponding with the direction of rotationof said varies and terminatjng in a discharge opening at a point on thesame side of said line as the lower end of said upper wall of saidchannel, and means for rotating said blades.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 wherein there are shielding side wallssurrounding and outwardly spaced from the lower portion of Said casingand extending below the lower edge of said casing.-

6. In a mobile harvester of he ype a ap ed o be moved 9 I over a fieldof forage to crop the same for silage, a hoodlike casing having adepending circular wall, cutting blades disposed beneath said casing andmounted for rotation substantially concentrically with said wall in asubstantially horizontal plane, [an arcuate vane following each blade]air impeller vanes mounted for rotation with said blades and extendingupwardly into said casing with [its concaved surface] their impellingsurfaces facing [forward] forwardly with respect to the direction ofrotation of said vanes and shaped to induce a current of air inwardlyfrom the outer end of [its] said [blade] blades, [a circular-arcinverted] an inverted arc-form channel closely overlying and open to thegreater portion of the path of rotation of said vanes and progressivelyincreasing in [height] cross-sectional area around the casing, relativeto the rotation of said blades, from a point at one side of theharvester to a point adjacent the commencing point, and a conveying ductconnected with the larger end of said channel.

7. The subject matter of claim 6 wherein there is a lip extension alongthe upper edge of each vane extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom.

8. A harvester adapted to be drawn over a field for cutting andpneumatically conveying and discharging therefrom relatively heavy andmoisture laden forage into a collecting receptacle as silage, [and] saidharvester comprising a mobile body frame carrying a casing having itsunderside open and defined by a substantially vertical circular wall,rotatable cutting blades radially mounted on an axis substantiallyconcentric with said wall in a plane substantially at the lower edge ofsaid wall, an air impeller vane on the back edge of the outer end ofeach blade with respect to the direction of rotation of said blades andextending arcuately therefrom upwardly and forwardly into said casingadjacent the circular wall thereof, said vanes each being in the form ofa segment of a hollow truncated cone with its portion of less radiusoutermost of its blade and increasing in radius inwardly along the backedge of the blade for a distance thereof, means providing acircular-form spiralling passage in said casing overlying the path ofrotation of said vanes and open at its underside and having a dischargeopening at its larger end positioned at one side of said frame, saidpassage gradually reducing in height from said opening counter to therotation of said vanes to a zero height at a point adjacent saiddischarge opening, duct means rising from said frame and connected withthe discharge opening of said passage to convey the pneumaticallyentrained cut silage to a collecting receptacle, and power transmissionmeans on said frame for rotating said blades.

9. A harvester for cutting and pneumatically conveying and dischargingtherefrom relatively heavy and moisture laden forage into a collectingreceptacle for ensilaging, said harvester comprising an ambulatoryplatform, rotatable cutting blades underlying said platform and radiallydisposed on an axis carried by said platform, a circular wall dependingfrom said platform concentrically with said blades and terminatingsubstantially at the plane of rotation of said blades, said bladeshaving forward cutting edges with respect to their direction ofrotation, [an] air impeller [vane following behind each blade at itsouter end] vanes mounted for rotation with said blades and extending[arcuately upward therefrom] upwardly into the area defined by saidcircular wall and [with its concaved surface facing forward relative totheir direction of rotation, thereby] shaped to induce and direct aircurrent [forwardly] inwardly and upwardly of said blades, when saidblades are rotated, producing a cyclonic upwardly whirling fluid flowabout said circular side wall in the direction of rotation of said vaneswith the cut forage entrained therein, [and] an inverted channel carriedby said platform and overlying at least the greater portion of the pathof rotation of said vanes, said channel progressively increasing in[height] cross-sectional area for a distance from and to [a point]points in its circum- '10 ferenee in the direction ofthe rotation ofsaid blades the portion of said channel of greater cross-sectional areaemerging upwardly from said platform in an upwardly extending arcuate]and terminating in a conveying duct, and drive means for rotating saidcutting blades and vanes.

10. The subject-matter of claim 6, wherein shielding members depend fromsaid platform for a distance below and surrounding said circular wall inspaced relation to said wall.

11. A harvester, for cutting and pneumatically conveying and dischargingtherefrom relatively heavy and moisture laden forage into a collectingreceptacle for ensilaging, comprising an ambulatory platform, cutting[blade] blades underlying said platform and radially disposed about arotatable vertical shaft journalled on said platform, a circular walldepending from said platform concentrically with said [blade] blades andterminating substantially at the plane of rotation of said blades, saidblades each having a cutting edge on its forward longitudinal edgerelative to its direction of rotation and having its rear edge cantedslightly upwardly from its outer end inwardly, an air impeller vanecarried by each blade at the outer end of its rear edge and extendingupwardly into the confines of and adjacent to said circular wall, saidimpeller vanes each being arcuate with its concaved surface facingforwardly with respect to its direction of ro-' tation having its arc ofgradually increasing radius from its outer end inwardly of said blade, acircular-form inverted channel carried by the platform and overlying thepath of rotation of said vanes, said channel progressively increasing inheight from and to a point in its circumference in the direction of therotation of said blades, the portion of said channel of greater crosssectional area emerging upwardly from the platform in an upwardlyextending rearwardly directed arcuate duct, and means for driving saidshaft.

12. The subject matter of claim 11 wherein the top edge portion of eachof said vanes is a rearwardly directed lip formed on a reversing curvewith respect to the body of the vane.

13. In a silage harvester for cropping forage growth and conveying thesame pneumatically to an attending receiving vehicle as the harvesterprogresses over a field, the combination of means defining asubstantially annular passage spirally overlying radial cutting bladesrotatable in a plane substantially normal to the axis of said passage,said passage being open at its underside and having its side wallsterminating above at least the plane of rotation of the cutting edges ofsaid blades, an air impeller vane on each blade projecting from a rearportion of said blade upwardly toward and underlying said passage, eachvane being arcuate with its concavedsurface facing forwardly of thedirection of rotation thereof and with its upper portion angledsufficiently with respect to a radial line from its axis of rotation tothe outer edge thereof to induce air current inwardly from the outer endof said vane counter to centrifugal air currents produced by said blade,when rotated, whereby said combined air currents, together with aircurrents generated by the blades in their area forward of theirrespective vanes, are directed upwardly into said passage with anupwardly spiralling cyclonic movement entraining the cropped materialupwardly into said passage and with sufiicient force to deliver the sameto an attending collection vehicle, and means for rotating said blades.

14. In a silage harvester for cropping forage growth and conveying thesame pneumatically to an attending receiving vehicle as the harvesterprogresses over a field, the combination of means defining asubstantially annular passage spirally overlying radial cutting bladesrotatable in a plane substantially normal to the axis of said passageand having an open bottom-side, an air impeller vane on each bladeprojecting upwardly toward and underlying said passage, each vane beingarcuate with its concaved surface facing forwardly of the direction ofrotation thereof and with its upper portion angled at approximately 30with respect to a radial line from the axis of rotation thereof, theapex of said angle being at the outer end of said vane relative to thelength of said. blade, whereby to. generate air currents inwardly of theouter edge of the vane counter to forces moving outwardly of said bladesand to direct said combined air currents upwardly into said passage withan upwardly spiralling cyclonic movement entraining the cropped materialupwardly into said passage and with sufficient force to deliver the sameto an attending collection vehicle, duct means connected with saidpassage toconvey the entrained cut material to said vehicle, andmeans'for rotating said blades.

v15. In a silage harvester for cropping forage growth and conveying thesame pneumatically to an attending receiving vehicle as the .sarvesterprogresses over a field, the combination of means defining asubstantially annular passage having an open bottom side and spirallyoverlying the outer end portions of radial cutting blades rotatable in aplane substantially normal to the axis of said passage and slightlybelow the lower edge of said passage, the outer rear edges of saidblades with respect to their direction of rotation being cantedupwardly, an air impeller vane projecting upwardly from the rear edge ofeach blade at its outer end portion and underlying and extending acrossthe open bottom-side of said passage, each vane being arcuate with itsconcaved surface facing forwardly with respect to its direction ofrotation and gradually increasing in radius from its outer end with itsupper edge angled at approximately 30 with respect to a radial line fromits axis of rotation [thereof] to its outer edge, whereby to generateair currents inwardly of the outer edge of the vane counter tocentrifugal currents moving outwardly of said blades and to direct saidcombined air currents upwardly into said passage with an upwardlyspiralling cyclonic movement entraining the cropped material upwardlyinto said passage and with sufficient force to deliver the same to anattending collection vehicle, duct means connected with said passage toconvey the entrained cut material to said vehicle, and means forrotating said blades.

16. In a silage harvester for cropping forage growth and conveying thesame pneumatically to an attending receiving vehicle as the harvesterprogresses over a field, the combination of means defining an upwardlyrising spiral form passage overlying the outer end portions of elongatedand [radial] radially disposed cutting blades rotatable in a planesubstantially norml to the axis of said passage, the lower edge of theouter wall of said passage being in a plane substantially parallel tothe plane of rotationof said blades and slightly above at least thecutting edges of said blades, each blade having elongated longitudinaledges, one forming a front cutting edge, the outer end portions of saidblades being canted transversely and upwardly with respect to theirfront cutting edges, an air impeller vane projecting upwardly from therear edge of each blade .at-its outer end portion and underlying andextending across said passage, each vane being arcuate with its concavedsurface facing forwardly with respect to its direction of rotation andof gradually increasing radius from its outer end with its upper portionangled suflicicntly with respect to a radial line from its axis ofrotation to the outer edge thereof to induce air currents inwardly fromthe outer end of said vane counter to centrifugal air currents producedby said blades, when rotated, whereby said combined air currents,together with air currents generated by saidblades in their areasforward of their respective vanes, are directed upwardly into saidpassage with an upwardly spiralling cyclonic movement entraining thecropped material upwardly into said passage and with sufiicient force todeliver the same to an attending collection vehicle, duct meansconnected with said passage to convey the entrained cut-material to saidvehicle, and means for rotating said blades.

17; vIn va machine for cutting material delivered thereto by relativefeeding movement between the machine and the material and fordischarging the cut material from the machine, the combination of acasing having its lower portion formed by a circular wall and open atits underside, rotatably mounted cutting blades positioned under andradially of said casing with their cutting edges below the lower edge ofsaid circular wall for at least a distance in their cycle of rotation,impeller vanes mounted to rotate with said blades and extending upwardlyinto the casing and positioned and shaped to induce forces inwardly ofthe casing counter to centrifugal forces generated by said blades, whensaid blades are rotated, and to direct the resultant flows of thedeveloped forces as a whirling current moving upwardly and forwardly inthe direction of rotation of the vanes, and an inverted substantiallycircular-form channel opening at its underside into said casing toreceive said whirling current for the greater portion of the path ofrotation of the vanes, said channel progressively increasing incross-sectional area with respect to the direction of rotation of saidvanes from a point substantially opposite the point of initial efiectivecut to a point beyond the point where efiective cutting ends, saidchannel terminating in a discharge opening, and means for rotating saidblades and vanes.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 1,656,105 Durkee Jan. 10, 1928 2,071,872 CockburnFeb. 23, 1937 2,477,795 Gehl Aug. 2, 1949 2,661,585 Hansen Dec. 8, 19532,675,661. Titzer Apr. 20, 1954 2,701,942 Caldwell, IL, et a1. Feb. 15,1955

